Film of the year
- The Turin Horse
A pretty much faultless film, Bela Tarr’s ninth and, he
assures, last film is a nihilistic breakdown of religion and humanity. A
difficult film to watch, a difficult film to enjoy and an even harder film to
write about The Turin Horse is stunningly shot, hauntingly scored, bleak and
ultimately apocalyptic. It is pure cinematic wonder.
The other 11
Beasts of the
Southern Wild
The most wildly emotionally engulfing experience in cinema of the year,
Benh Zeitlin’s first feature is an interesting counterpoint to The Turin Horse. Coming down on the
other side of the life and death fable it’s a tale of facing death in a setting
that’s both fantastically timeless and politically relevant.
Lawless
The most violently underrated film of the year, John
Hillcoat and Nick Cave’s follow up to Aussie-Western masterpiece The Proposition is an amazing piece of
visceral filmmaking. Cave’s script is lyrically written yet earthy, witty and
grounded and his soundtrack with Warren Ellis is, as always, superb. Lawless
also delivered the greatest surprise in film this year sporting the best
performance of the year in the shape of Shia LaBeouf. Who would’ve thought
that?
Searching for
Sugarman
Knowing nothing of the artist, Rodriguez, I was enamoured by
the best mystery tale I had seen in a film in years. And, with a pinch of salt,
it’s real. The key to Searching for Sugarman’s success is the very simple, it’s
just a really well told story and what a ripping yarn it is. The supposed
liberties the filmmakers take with the story are totally irrelevant because
they add so much to the perception of the film and the journey it takes you on.
Searching for Sugarman is the most inventive and riveting documentary in years
and snatches the top spot from Into the Abyss as documentary of the year.
Once Upon a Time in
Anatolia
It is both the most formulaic and laid out police procedural
and the most wildly inventive and progressive. The most cathartic film in
years, when Ceylan want you to be calm, frustrated, reflective, bored even, you
are. And that's really not a bad thing. Really. Show cases the beauty of cinema
and how it is a wonderful art of manipulation. Ceylan cements himself as the
leading creative coming out of the flourishing Turkish film scene.
Into the Abyss
Not just Herzog’s best documentary since My Best Friend back in 1999 but also his
best film in years, Into the Abyss is a genuinely illuminating and moving observation on
the value of life. The purest and most balanced documentary since Marc Singer's
Dark Days.
Cosmopolis
Cosmopolis was a
surprise for me personally. It was a film that, after the disappointment of A Dangerous Method, I was quite wary of.
Cronenberg being one of my very favourite directors, I held out hope, mainly to
the credit of a belting trailer but as its release drew nearer people I trust
and respect started hinting that maybe it wasn’t so good. Due to the films
limited release in London I didn’t manage to catch it in the cinema and only
ended up watching it recently and thankfully loved it. It’s just such a
measured, composed film. It pulses with a detached, voyeuristic energy. Cosmopolis is Cronenberg’s most
conceptual film since Crash and when
the concept is as reflective, topical, bizarre and divisive as this, it is
compulsive, important viewing.
Excision
The most brain-bustlingly bizarre film of the year, Excision also manages to be one of the
most original and best. Carried by AnnaLynne McCord’s extraordinary, out of
character performance the film recalls the works of John Hughes spliced with Georges Franju’s Eyes Without a Face and a dash of John Walters. A dizzying,
disturbing and perversely erotic descent into teenage insanity and very much
the best horror film since last year’s sublime The Woman.
The Hobbit
Yes, I’m biased. The
Lord of the Rings were the films of my formative years and still some of my
very favourite and I do think some of the very best. However, trying to strip
away my bias on repeat viewings I still think The Hobbit is a cinematic marvel. It’s a lush, delightful epic that
crams its overlong running time with so much content and wonder that any
criticism that the book was being drawn out over three films are entirely
unfair and just wrong. Each Lord of the Rings book corresponded to one film but
we must also note that at least a third of each book was left out of the films
to keep the trilogy from being five or six films. Forget the cynics, forget the
inevitable backlash, The Hobbit is a
soaring spectacle that is simply a pure joy to watch and with humble Martin
Freeman delivering one of the finest performances of the year, it really is the
year of the unexpecteds.
Killer Joe
It isn’t as lean and intense as Bug, Friedkin’s previous descent into
Letts’ claustrophobic creations, but it has a manic, perpetual state of unrest
and a film of such tight craftsmanship that is hard not to admire. I do admire
the film very much and I enjoyed the film very much also. The film shocked me
and took me aback but with atmosphere, with ingenuity and with violent lunacy,
not with grim torture and pain free from irony. And that in this age of cinema
is a success.
The Dark
Knight Rises
Batman Begins remains the crown
jewel of the trilogy and a veritable benchmark in cinema but as a trilogy, as a
vision, Christopher Nolan has created something of such exhilarating scope and
intelligence the likes of which is virtually unheard of. The Dark Knight Rises concludes a towering cinematic achievement.
About Elly
From the director of A
Separation, Asghar Farhadi, comes
a stunningly crafted social drama with disconcerting and elusive roots in
mystery and thriller cinema recalling The
Vanishing. Perfectly composed and played by everyone in the cast, About Elly cements Asghar Farhadi as the leading talent emanating from
the fruitful landscape of modern Iranian cinema.
Runners up
(because 12 was never going to be enough)
The Hunt
Nostalgia for the
Light
American Mary
The Raid
The Imposter
